Buffalo Sabres Head Coach Lindy Ruff recorded the 900th win of his NHL coaching career on April 17th. With the Sabres 5-4 season-closing victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, Ruff joins a very select club. Only five head coaches in National Hockey League history have recorded 900 or more victories behind the bench.
The sixty-five-year-old bench boss is in his second coaching stint with the Sabres. It is fitting that Ruff reaches this milestone with the franchise he is most associated with. As a player, the Warburg, Alberta native was selected by the Sabres in the second round, 32nd overall, in the 1979 entry draft. Ruff played for the Sabres from 1979-1989. In that time, he was named team captain and became a respected voice in the locker room.
As a head coach with Buffalo, Ruff guided the club to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1999 and back-to-back Eastern Conference Final berths in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007. Ruff began his second stint as head coach of the Sabres last spring. He has been tasked with returning the franchise to the postseason. The 2024-2005 season has been yet another disappointing season. The team missed the playoffs for the fourteenth straight season. The team found its footing in the last quarter of this season, but by then, the push was too late.
A 13-game losing streak, which began on November 27th, effectively ended any playoff hopes. The 0-10-3 record in a stretch ending on December 23rd was too deep a hole to climb out of. Ruff is committed to finishing the job he started. General Manager Kevyn Adams has confirmed that Ruff will be returning as Head Coach next season. His challenge is the same as it was last spring. He must get this talented group to play a consistent brand of two-way hockey. https://www.youtube.com/embed/D8EtJILmnwY?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1 The unquestionable goal will be to return the franchise to respectability and the playoffs. As for 900 coaching victories, Ruff downplayed the accomplishment.
“It’s a number for sure,” Ruff said. “It means I’ve coached a lot of hockey games. I had a lot of good players, a lot of good coaches. From management on down, they put a lot of trust in me. It isn’t about me, it’s about the teams I’ve had and the people around me.”
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Excellent article! I’ve always liked Ruff. I was going to UB in the early 80’s and got to watch him in his early career.. he was always a force on the ice. Years later when I lived in Kansas City I was surprised to see him as Player-Coach of the San Diego Gulls when they were in town to beat the Kansas City Blades. I don’t think the Gulls lost any games that season. I never suspected that he would be back to coach the Sabres! I’m excited for next season!!
I sure hope he can turn the team around.